1. You may identify the stasis in the play but it isn’t necessarily at the beginning of the play. Where is it and who does it involve? The start of Yellow Face actually begins with the end. It describes our two main characters, Marcus G. Dahlman and David Henry Hwang, conversing through email in 2006. It’s rather vague and doesn’t completely connect until the last few lines pages of the play occur. Afterward, audience is automatically thrown back several years where we start with DHH and how he began as a successful playwright, winning the 1988 Tony Awards for Madama Butterfly. The play is led by The Announcer to help with understanding exactly what all is going on (since there are many transitions and characters from different reports in media.
2. Ball points out that the intrusion sometimes occurs late in the dramatic action. What is the intrusion that breaks the stasis in Execution of Justice and how is it broken? The intrusion was David mistakenly casting Marcus in a role that doesn’t really fit his ethnicity. Not only that, but it is the main lead of the play and David is very well known around especially recently due to his involvement in the Miss. Saigon situation. Otherwise, at that point, he doesn’t have to worry about who to cast and what roles are played.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor that is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place? Hint: what is the heart of the play? How does the title figure in this? If the incident of DHH taking this position with Miss Saigon had not happened before we found out about his casting of Marcus, we would not fully understand just how detrimental it can possibly be to his career. After claiming his support and activism towards this community on a large media outlet, he has put himself between a rock and a hard place. Thus now he is pressured to not make a wrong move or else he’ll be pointed at to be a hypocrite.
4. State the dramatic question that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrusion.) How will Hwang pull himself out of the situation (safe face with his community)? Will he be able to do so without ruining his career?
5. Use Hwang’s “character” to answer the questions concerning character. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, ie. The dramatic actions that are taken. Examine what these particular characters wants. The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that demonstrate these obstacles facing each of the lawyers. It seems as if David Henry Hwang, like most playwrights, wants to be successful in one way or another. He even joins his father’s business only after finding out just how much money he would be making. What’s keeping him back from fame includes...
Me against myself: David must come to terms with the mistakes he’s made. After all, he’s the reason he’s there in the first place. The question of “Who am I?” and, as a result, has he grown much as a character after all the events?
Me against society: Everyone is subject to their own opinions, which means there will always be those who disagree with David and what he says/believes in. He also is faced with different ages of society. The young adults that he and Marcus meet, as he predicated, “see right through Marcus”. His father, however, pushes him to keep writing and supports him with his decisions even though he doesn’t have a full understanding of what exactly this all means for David and his reputation.
Me against others: This has to do with the relationship between DHH and Marcus, which moves the plot and takes a sharp plot twist right at the end.
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Yellow Face. Although at the end, the playwright completely turns the story around by explaining that Marcus, the friendly antagonist to DHH , actually isn't a real person. Thus challenging the notion of what is real and what is not. This realism idea goes back into theater long before this play was written, but it can be very effective to audience.
The start of Yellow Face actually begins with the end. It describes our two main characters, Marcus G. Dahlman and David Henry Hwang, conversing through email in 2006. It’s rather vague and doesn’t completely connect until the last few lines pages of the play occur. Afterward, audience is automatically thrown back several years where we start with DHH and how he began as a successful playwright, winning the 1988 Tony Awards for Madama Butterfly. The play is led by The Announcer to help with understanding exactly what all is going on (since there are many transitions and characters from different reports in media.
2. Ball points out that the intrusion sometimes occurs late in the dramatic action. What is the intrusion that breaks the stasis in Execution of Justice and how is it broken?
The intrusion was David mistakenly casting Marcus in a role that doesn’t really fit his ethnicity. Not only that, but it is the main lead of the play and David is very well known around especially recently due to his involvement in the Miss. Saigon situation. Otherwise, at that point, he doesn’t have to worry about who to cast and what roles are played.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor that is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place? Hint: what is the heart of the play? How does the title figure in this?
If the incident of DHH taking this position with Miss Saigon had not happened before we found out about his casting of Marcus, we would not fully understand just how detrimental it can possibly be to his career. After claiming his support and activism towards this community on a large media outlet, he has put himself between a rock and a hard place. Thus now he is pressured to not make a wrong move or else he’ll be pointed at to be a hypocrite.
4. State the dramatic question that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrusion.)
How will Hwang pull himself out of the situation (safe face with his community)? Will he be able to do so without ruining his career?
5. Use Hwang’s “character” to answer the questions concerning character. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, ie. The dramatic actions that are taken. Examine what these particular characters wants. The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that demonstrate these obstacles facing each of the lawyers.
It seems as if David Henry Hwang, like most playwrights, wants to be successful in one way or another. He even joins his father’s business only after finding out just how much money he would be making. What’s keeping him back from fame includes...
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Yellow Face.
Although at the end, the playwright completely turns the story around by explaining that Marcus, the friendly antagonist to DHH , actually isn't a real person. Thus challenging the notion of what is real and what is not. This realism idea goes back into theater long before this play was written, but it can be very effective to audience.